Yes, it is already September, but I am only a day late for the NoSQL installment of the August job trends. In this update, I am splitting the graphs into two as I include more products. So, for the NoSQL job trends, we will be looking at Cassandra, Redis, Couchbase , SimpleDB, CouchDB, MongoDB, HBase, Riak, Neo4j and MarkLogic. I am including Neo4j for two reasons. First, it is a graph DB which means it might have a different trend than the other solutions. Also, I have been seeing more mention of it in blog posts. The second new inclusion is MarkLogic, again for multiple reasons. First, I use it in my day job, so I am being somewhat selfish. Second, it is an XML-native document database and not open-source. Third, MarkLogic is making a push for semantics (meaning storage of RDF) and native javascript. So this installment is really a baseline for the MarkLogic trend. If I am missing popular options, or if you want to see what the trends are for other NoSQL solutions, please let me know.

First, we look at the long-term trends from Indeed for our first 5, MongoDB, Cassandra, Redis, SimpleDB and HBase:

As you can see in this first group, demand has flattened for the past year to 18 months. MongoDB is still the clear leader. Cassandra stayed stable for a while, allowing it to build a lead over HBase which declined heavily during 2013 before flattening its trend. Redis followed the same general trend while maintaining its fourth position. SimpleDB has been in slow decline since 2012. It is possible that it will be removed in the next update.

Now, let’s look at Indeed for our second set of 5, CouchDB, Couchbase, Neo4j, MarkLogic and Riak:

First, a note on scale. In the previous graph, Redis is at 0.03%, while the top of this graph is at 0.01%. I did not include SimpleDB in this group mainly because of its age and declining trend. Given the scale of the graph, demand seems to jump all over. CouchDB seems to be leading but has dropped steeply from its peak in mid-2011. At just about the same current demand sits Riak, which also had a steep drop in the past several months. Riak does seem to be growing overall since early 2011. The major positive trend here is Couchbase, growing steadily since 2012. MarkLogic was in a bit of decline from 2010 until 2013, but has been growing since early 2013. Neo4j has been mostly flat since early 2012, probably due to its specialized nature.

MongoDB seems to be increasing its lead in the short term, even with a dip in demand the past few months. Cassandra and HBase followed similar trends for most of the past year with Cassandra leading slightly. Redis continues a fairly stable trend for the past 18 months, lagging the leaders by a bit. SimpleDB shows little demand in a fairly flat trend.

The note about scale from the first set of graphs applies here as well. For most of the trends, there is a big bump in early 2014, except for MarkLogic. However, that bump was not sustained. CouchDB leads this pack, with a small gap over Riak. Riak shows the most unstable trend with several peaks and valleys. Couchbase is showing a solid growth trend, ending up at the same spot as MarkLogic. MarkLogic is also showing a good overall short-term trend, which could point to a positive direction in the future as well. Much like the long-term trends for Neo4j, SimplyHired is showing a mostly flat trend since the Autumn of 2013.

This chart really shows the struggle of SimpleDB. While many solutions are growing rapidly, SimpleDB barely registers on the graph and looks to have a slight declining trend. Cassandra is leading the growth, just above 12,000%. HBase follows with near 10,500% growth. Redis trails a bit at just under 9000%. MongoDB, which leads in overall demand, is not showing the same type of growth, sitting just under 5000%.

Unlike the general long-term trends, the scale on the growth chart is fairly similar. Couchbase is leading with a steadily increasing trend. MarkLogic comes next with a stabilizing trend, growing nice lately but really unstable between 2009 and 2013. Riak follows with a fairly stable, generally rising trend. CouchDB is definitely declining slowly falling to under 500% from its peak of 1000% in early 2012. Neo4j trails everyone, showing a flat growth trend for the past two years.

Currently, there are 4 major players and then a bunch of solutions fighting for attention. MongoDB, Cassandra, HBase and Redis all have solid demand and growth. This shows a very promising future for this segment of the industry. On the bad side of the trends we have SimpleDB, which looks like it is dying out. CouchDB seems to be floundering as well, even though its cousin Couchbase is growing nicely. The more interesting question is what happens with the other solutions, MarkLogic, Riak and Neo4j? The trends for those could be very telling for any solution trying to gain real acceptance.